A LA CARTE : STEAMING, WARMING SOUPS.

Byline: Larry Lipson

Recent rainy and cool weather makes one think of the comforting aspect of a steaming bowl or cup of soup.

And they say where the soup is good, so, probably, is the rest of the fare.

Here then, are a few restaurants where one or more hot soups available on a regular basis are worth consideration:

Cinnabar 

Address: 933 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Californian.

Comments: Perhaps not as Asian-accented as when it opened, the kitchen is still one that produces imaginative, distinctive dishes regularly.

Picks: Although there are always interesting soups on a du jour basis at lunchtime, the signature, staple potage here is a flavorful, creamless, roasted zucchini and garlic soup with croutons, said to be almost a meal in itself and priced at $5 a bowl.

Diaghilev

Address: Wyndham Bel Age Hotel, 1020 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Franco-Russian.

Comments: Peter the Great brought French chefs to Russia, which set the tone for much of Russia's most sophisticated cuisine elements. So don't sneer at the combination of French and Russian. It makes a lot of historical sense.

Picks: Of course you'll find a good bowl of hot borscht ($9) here. But that's not all. This remarkable kitchen makes ribnaya solyanka (a rich crab bisque, $13) and a very good venison consomme with celery and pearl noodles ($9).

Laszlo's Cuisine (Hortobagy)

Address: 11138 Ventura Blvd., Studio City.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Hungarian.

Comments: If you eat like a bird, better fly elsewhere because the plates by chef Laszlo are heaped and the food is hearty and flavorful.

Picks: Hey, this is real Balkan comfort stuff, a warming, kettle of farmer's goulash soup (bogracs gulyas, $7.95), chock full of beef chunks and vegetables and seasoned in the traditional Hungarian manner.

Thai Sate

Address: 11044 Ventura Blvd., Studio City.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Thai.

Comments: The skillful Thai women chefs at this restaurant produce consistent, superior Thai food at reasonable prices, and their soups are particularly outstanding.

Picks: The traditional Thai tom kha kai soup made with moist pieces of chicken and crunchy straw mushroom in a spicy, coconut-milk broth that is somehow both jarring and smooth in the most positive way. A bowl costs $5.50.

Trader Vic's

Address: Beverly Hilton Hotel, 9876 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: International.

Comments: The last bastion of the ``old Polynesians,'' this restaurant manages to attract both the younger and older crowds with its menu of tried-and-true favorites.

Picks: One of those longtime popular dishes here is the late ``Trader'' Vic Bergeron's personally approved recipe of bongo-bongo soup, a delicious combination of oysters and spinach, ticketed at $5.95 a bowl.

Twin Palms

Address: 101 W. Green St., Pasadena.

Phone: [phone].

Cuisine: Californian coastal.

Comments: Chef Tony Zidar has put his own stamp on the fare here with a Pacific look, replacing the Provencal accent under founding chef Michael Roberts.

Picks: Zidar's evening offerings include a welcome bowl of roasted Maui sweet-onion soup for $5.95 and a Japanese-style clear broth with udon noodles and a poached oyster for $5.50. At lunch the same Maui onion soup is joined by a wild mushroom and pan-roasted sweet-corn soup, also $5.95.

Yujean Kang's

Address: 67 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, and 8826 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood.

Phone: Pasadena: [phone]; West Hollywood: [phone].

Cuisine: Chinese.

Comments: Don't come here for everyday Chinese fare. Chef Kang produces gustatory marvels on a daily basis.

Picks: One of these marvels is the perfect winter starter called picture-in-the-snow soup of a rich, brown stock filled with smoked duck, julienned chicken, enoki and black mushrooms. The bowl arrives dramatically capped with meringue on which a winter scene is depicted. You pay $4 for it in Pasadena, $6 in West Hollywood.